How to Record Separate Audio Tracks in OBS Studio

This guide provides a straightforward, step-by-step walkthrough on how to configure OBS Studio to record your microphone and background music onto entirely separate audio tracks. By isolating these audio sources during recording, you gain complete control over your audio levels during post-production editing, allowing you to adjust, mute, or enhance your voice and music independently.

Step 1: Add Your Audio Sources

Before routing your audio, ensure your microphone and background music are active as individual sources in OBS Studio.

  1. Open OBS Studio and go to the Sources dock at the bottom.
  2. Click the + icon to add a new source.
  3. Select Audio Input Capture for your microphone, name it “Microphone,” and select your physical mic device.
  4. Click the + icon again and select Application Audio Capture (Beta) or Audio Output Capture for your music. Name it “Background Music” and target your music player (e.g., Spotify, web browser, or system output).

Step 2: Configure the Advanced Audio Properties

Next, you must assign each audio source to its own dedicated channel using the OBS audio matrix.

  1. Locate the Audio Mixer dock in the main OBS window.
  2. Click the three dots (gear icon) next to any of your audio sources and select Advanced Audio Properties.
  3. Locate the Tracks columns (numbered 1 through 6) on the far right of the window.
  4. Uncheck all boxes for both sources, then assign them as follows:
    • For Microphone, check only Track 1.
    • For Background Music, check only Track 2.
  5. Close the Advanced Audio Properties window.

Step 3: Enable Multi-Track Recording in Settings

OBS must be configured to output multiple audio tracks to your recorded file.

  1. Click Settings in the bottom-right corner of OBS.
  2. Navigate to the Output tab on the left sidebar.
  3. Change the Output Mode dropdown at the top from Simple to Advanced.
  4. Click on the Recording tab.
  5. Choose a Recording Format that supports multiple audio tracks, such as mkv, mp4, or mov.
  6. Under the Audio Track section, check the boxes for 1 and 2.
  7. Click Apply and then OK.

Step 4: Verify in Your Video Editor

To ensure the configuration is working, record a short test video while speaking and playing music simultaneously. Import the resulting video file into a multi-track video editor (such as DaVinci Resolve, Premiere Pro, or Vegas Pro). You will see two distinct audio waveforms beneath your video track, allowing you to edit your voice and background music completely independent of one another.